Cerebral atrophy
Template:DiseaseDisorder infobox
|
WikiDoc Resources for Cerebral atrophy |
|
Articles |
|---|
|
Most recent articles on Cerebral atrophy Most cited articles on Cerebral atrophy |
|
Media |
|
Powerpoint slides on Cerebral atrophy |
|
Evidence Based Medicine |
|
Clinical Trials |
|
Ongoing Trials on Cerebral atrophy at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Cerebral atrophy Clinical Trials on Cerebral atrophy at Google
|
|
Guidelines / Policies / Govt |
|
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Cerebral atrophy NICE Guidance on Cerebral atrophy
|
|
Books |
|
News |
|
Commentary |
|
Definitions |
|
Patient Resources / Community |
|
Patient resources on Cerebral atrophy Discussion groups on Cerebral atrophy Patient Handouts on Cerebral atrophy Directions to Hospitals Treating Cerebral atrophy Risk calculators and risk factors for Cerebral atrophy
|
|
Healthcare Provider Resources |
|
Causes & Risk Factors for Cerebral atrophy |
|
Continuing Medical Education (CME) |
|
International |
|
|
|
Business |
|
Experimental / Informatics |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Cerebral atrophy is a common feature of many of the diseases that affect the brain. Atrophy of any tissue means loss of cells. In brain tissue, atrophy describes a loss of neurons and the connections between them. Atrophy can be generalized, which means that all of the brain has shrunk; or it can be focal, affecting only a limited area of the brain and resulting in a decrease of the functions that area of the brain controls. If the cerebral hemispheres (the two lobes of the brain that form the cerebrum) are affected, conscious thought and voluntary processes may be impaired.
Historical Perspective
Classification
Pathophysiology
Causes
Differentiating Cerebral atrophy from Other Diseases
The pattern and rate of progression of cerebral atrophy depends on the disease involved. Diseases that cause cerebral atrophy include:
- Cerebral palsy, in which lesions (damaged areas) may impair motor coordination
- Dementias such as Alzheimer's disease, Pick’s disease, senile dementia, fronto-temporal dementia, and vascular dementia
- Epilepsy, in which lesions cause abnormal electrochemical discharges that result in seizures
- Huntington's disease, and other genetic disorders that cause build-up of toxic levels of proteins in neurons
- Infectious diseases, such as encephalitis, neurosyphilis, and AIDS, in which an infectious agent or the inflammatory reaction to it destroys neurons and their axons
- Leukodystrophies, such as Krabbe disease, which destroy the myelin sheath that protects axons
- Mitochondrial encephalomyopathies, such as Kearns-Sayre syndrome, which interfere with the basic functions of neurons
- Multiple sclerosis, which causes inflammation, myelin damage, and lesions in cerebral tissue
- Stroke and traumatic brain injury
Epidemiology and Demographics
Risk Factors
Screening
Natural History, Complications, and Prognosis
Diagnosis
Diagnostic Criteria
History and Symptoms
Many diseases that cause cerebral atrophy are associated with dementia, seizures, and a group of language disorders called the aphasias. Dementia is characterized by a progressive impairment of memory and intellectual function that is severe enough to interfere with social and work skills. Memory, orientation, abstraction, ability to learn, visual-spatial perception, and higher executive functions such as planning, organizing and sequencing may also be impaired. Seizures can take different forms, appearing as disorientation, strange repetitive movements, loss of consciousness, or convulsions. Aphasias are a group of disorders characterized by disturbances in speaking and understanding language. Receptive aphasia causes impaired comprehension. Expressive aphasia is reflected in odd choices of words, the use of partial phrases, disjointed clauses, and incomplete sentences.
Patient #1: CT images demonstrate marked prominence of the ventricles and sulci. This is consistent with cerebral atrophy
